The (&th;&emac;, when emphatic or alone; &th;&esl;, obscure before a vowel; &th;e, obscure before a consonant; 37), definite article. [AS. [eth]e, a later form for earlier nom. sing. masc. sxc7;, formed under the influence of the oblique cases. See That, pron.]

A word placed before nouns to limit or individualize their meaning.

⇒ The was originally a demonstrative pronoun, being a weakened form of that. When placed before adjectives and participles, it converts them into abstract nouns; as, the sublime and the beautiful. Burke.The is used regularly before many proper names, as of rivers, oceans, ships, etc.; as, the Nile, the Atlantic, the Great Eastern, the West Indies, The Hague. The with an epithet or ordinal number often follows a proper name; as, Alexander the Great; Napoleon the Third. The may be employed to individualize a particular kind or species; as, the grasshopper shall be a burden. Eccl. xii. 5.